Not Losing Weight on a Low-Carb Ketogenic Diet? Don’t Give Up and Read Further

The ketogenic diet is not only known to be one of the most effective weight loss tools, but has proven to have many health benefits. Ketosis is a state at which your body produces ketones in the liver, shifting the body’s metabolism away from glucose and towards fat utilization.Ketogenic Diet: Unless you can check your blood ketones, using Ketostix is an easy way to detect urinary ketones. It’s not the most accurate method, but may be good enough to find out whether you are in ketosis. In some cases, weight loss may be difficult even on a low-carb ketogenic diet and there may be a few possible reasons for weight stalling, which I have listed in this post.

1. Carbs are Too High

Your carbohydrate intake may be too high. Try to decrease your daily carbs limit. Also try to include coconut oil in your ketogenic diet. Coconut oil consists of MCTs (Medium chain triglycerides), which are easily digestible, less likely to be stored by your body and are used for immediate energy. MCTs are converted in the liver into ketones, which helps you enter ketosis. If you want to know more about carbs, check out this post. For more about ketogenic diet, have a look at this post.

2. Protein is Too High or Too Low

weight losing: Your protein intake may be too high/ low. Protein is the most sating macronutrient and you should include high-quality animal protein in your diet. If you don’t eat enough protein, you will feel more hungry and most likely eat more. Lack of protein can also lead to muscle loss. However, if you eat too much protein, the excess protein converts into glycogen and disrupts ketosis. Keep in mind that you will have to eat a lot more than you should – 10-15 more grams won’t make a difference. This is not the most likely reason, as it’s not as easy to eat too much protein unless you take protein supplements.

3. Carb Cheating / Carb Creep

Carb cheating / carb creep is another possible reason for weight losing plateaus. You have to be really disciplined and aware of all carbs you eat. It’s a little nibbling here and there of the forbidden foods, leading to a carb creep, so make sure you count all carbs. In this video, Dr. Eric Westman explains the ketogenic diet and emphasises that even eating mints may affect ketosis and weight losing results. Sometimes, even when a label says “sugar-free”, it doesn’t have to be “carbs-free”!

4. Too Many Calories – Yes, They Do Count

The reason could be way too much fat and therefore calories in your diet. Firstly, it’s indisputable that all calories are NOT equal. It really matters whether you get them from healthy and sating LCHF food or processed food rich in carbs. Sam Feltham’s 5000 calorie experiments (first with LCHF diet, then High-carb diet) may be extreme, but they have shown that calories are NOT equal and their source is very important. However, some people on a LCHF diet may find it easier to lose weight losing if they also watch their calorie intake. Fat contains twice as many calories as carbohydrates and protein, so it’s important your fat intake lies between the recommended ranges. There is no diet that lets you consume “unlimited” amounts of calories and still weight losing.

5. Too Many Low-Carb Treats

You eat too many low-carb treats weight losing that may interrupt ketosis or cause cravings. Going low-carb doesn’t mean you can indulge low-carb pancakes, cheesecakes or muffins on a daily basis. Although these may be very low in carbs , they may still cause cravings. You should always treat them as occasional rewards and your diet should be based on real food. weight losing As a guideline, beware of chewing gums, mints or any medications such as cough syrup and others that may contain sugar or sweeteners.

6. Snacking on Nuts and Dairy

One of the common mistakes people make is that some people overeat dairy and nuts when they are trying to lose weight losing. You may experience weight losing stalling or even weight losing gain not because nuts and dairy will kick you out of ketosis but because these foods are calorie-dense and easy to overeat (100 grams of macadamia nuts has over 700 kcal and over 70 grams of fat!) There is no reason to avoid non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers or fruits like avocado or berries. These foods are very high in micronutrients, low in carbs and won’t impair your weight losing efforts.

7. You Are Close to Your Target weight losing

Also keep in mind that losing fat gets more difficult as you approach your ideal weight – weight losing is not a linear process. In my own experience, if you need to lose a relatively small amount of weight like 5-10 pounds and your body weight is already at a healthy “natural” level, you will find it hard to lose more weight. The only way is to be careful about your calorie intake. In my case, because I’m quite active, this is eating up to 2,100-2,300 kcal a day (maintenance level + level of activity) to maintain my weight or 200-500 kcal less to lose weight. As you can see, it’s nowhere near starvation.

8. Short-Term Weight Gain and Fluctuations

Ketogenic Diet You put on weight over a short period of time. This could happen if you had more carbs (even once!) than your daily limit (e.g. you went to a party). As you may know, there is a relationship between water retention and glycogen stores. If your body manages to store some extra glycogen, you also increase water retention. ketogenic diet This happens literally from one day to the next. Don’t panic, it’s just water. Once you go back to your daily carbs limit it will take 2-3 days to lose the excessive water. Also, there are natural fluctuations related to hormone balance, especially in women.

9. Thyroid or Adrenal Disease & Weight Loss

You may have a thyroid or adrenal dysfunction and you are not aware of it. It only takes a blood / saliva test to find out – visit your doctor! In case of autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s), a very low-carb ketogenic diet is not recommended. Dr. Broda Barnes, who spent over 50 years on thyroid research, suggested in his book “Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness” that the minimum amount of carbohydrate intake for patients with hypothyroidism should at least 30 grams of net carbs. If you want to learn more about thyroid / adrenal disorders and what your doctor may not tell you, have a look at Stop The Thyroid Madness.

10. Stress

Ketogenic Diet Stress is a significant factor. When we are stressed out, our body produces a hormone called cortisol, which is responsible for storing fat round your stomach area and makes weight loss more difficult. Try to relax, don’t underestimate this factor. Find your own way to reduce it: try meditations, take a few days off work, go somewhere for a weekend or go for a walk. Stress is also linked to hypothyroidism and adrenal issues and this badly affects your metabolic rate. As a result of that, you store fat.

11. Lack of Sleep

Ketogenic Diet Lack of sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms may be the cause of your weight stalling. It may sound as cliche but sleep is and absolutely crucial part of fat loss: Maximum fat loss is only achieved with adequate sleep, ketogenic diet and exercise. Try to fall asleep before midnight and sleep for 7-9 hours. I don’t expect all of you can afford to sleep for 9 hours, but take it as a goal.

12. Leptin & Satiety

Ketogenic Diet: Leptin and its satiety signalling is another possible factor. Fat is hormonally active and it sends out leptin, a hormone that tells us when we’ve had enough. As you lose fat, there will be less fat cells to do the job. This does not apply just to low-carb, but any ketogenic diet. The question is how significant this factor is. If you eat food rich in fat and protein, this can be minimised.

13. Too Much Exercise

You exercise too much. Overtraining could be as harmful as lack of exercise. Here is a good article that explains Why You May Need To Exercise Less. Here is my post that will guide you through the types of exercise that are beneficial for weight loss and health.In my own experience, too much exercise is counteractive. Recently, I’ve been trying to lose 4 pounds (below is my progress over the last few months). As you can see, my calorie intake has risen dramatically. Reason? Because my weight loss was stalling, I decided to do more exercise. Source